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How to Recycle Magazines to Make a Holiday Wreath

Follow this tutorial to turn some excess magazines into a unique wreath for the holiday season.

It seems that wreaths have been moving beyond their historic evergreen-and-pinecone stereotype of late, and we’re seeing wreaths assembled with everything from ornaments to book pages to yarn to–you guessed it–magazines. Pull out your subscriptions from this past year and recycle them by creating something new and beautiful.

This magazine wreath does take some time, so I recommend either spacing it out or making it with a couple friends in an assembly line fashion (one person cutting, one pinning, one gluing, etc.)

Supplies

Magazines

A Styrofoam wreath form

Pushpins (I recommend using pins with larger heads than those pictured here)

Scalloped scrapbooking scissors

A cardstock circle

A glue gun with glue sticks

Instructions

Step 1: Use your cardstock circle and your scalloped scissors to cut out enough circles for your wreath. You may have to cut as you go to get a feel for exactly how many you will need, as it depends on what size wreath you are making. As far as colors go, you could choose to do one or two colors for your wreath, but I just used any magazine pages I had for a more multicolored effect.

Step 2: Once you have your circles cut, place a pin in the center of each circle. Then fold the circle in half loosely and create an S shape, shown in the the photo below. Cinch it at the bottom with your fingers.

Step 3: Once the paper is folded, go ahead and push your pin into the Styrofoam wreath form. For extra support, I recommend placing a dab of hot glue on the wreath and pushing your pin into that. This will keep your paper from falling out later or ripping away from the pin. Begin pinning these shapes as close to each other as you can, and you will start to see the ruffle effect take place on your wreath.

Step 4: Follow this pattern around the front and every other visible part of the wreath–you don’t have to go all the way around the back–until you can’t see any more of the white Styrofoam peeking from beneath. Add a pretty bow and hang inside or give as a gift for a unique, magazine-inspired look.

About the Author

Brittany Joy Cooper

Brittany Joy Cooper is a freelance writer, editor and consultant who lives in Nashville, Tenn. A native of Indianapolis and a graduate of Samford University, she spent several years editing a music magazine in Nashville before venturing out on her own. Brittany loves all things magazine, especially Real Simple and Whole Living, and now finds that she spends too much of her spare time looking for great recipes on Pinterest.